Objectives: Students will leave the class knowing more about the unique defensive strategies of honeybees, ants, and scorpions, and understanding how these behaviors help protect their colonies or offspring.

Materials:

  • Visual aids (images of “hot defensive bee ball”, “Colobopsis explodens” ant, and “mother scorpion carrying babies”)
  • Video clips demonstrating each insect’s unique defensive strategies

Theocratic Connection Links:

Video Links:

  • Bees Kill A Giant Hornet With Heat:

  • Colobopsis explodens Part 1:

  • Colobopsis explodens Part 2:

  • A Scorpion Mother Story:

Introduction (4 minutes):

Ask, “What do you guys think? Can a small creature be a powerful protector?” Encourage students to share their thoughts and explain why they feel that way.
Introduce the three insects to be discussed: the honeybee, ant, and scorpion, highlighting their unique defensive behaviors.

Honeybees: The Hot Defenders (8 minutes):

Show a video of honeybees forming a “hot defensive bee ball” to protect their hive from hornets.

Explain that Japanese Honeybees cluster around the hornet and vibrate their flight muscles to produce heat, reaching 47°C, which is lethal to the hornet but not to the bees.

Explain the neurological adaptation that helps bees monitor the temperature to avoid overheating themselves:
-A group of Japanese scientists wanted to understand how honeybees can handle the heat when they make “hot defensive bee balls” to protect their hive. They did this by studying the bees’ genetic code and brain activity.
-First, they heated the honeybees to the same temperature as the bee balls. Then, they looked at the bees’ brains to see what was happening.
-They discovered that a special gene, which helps control other genes, became much more active in Japanese honeybees compared to European honeybees. This helps the Japanese honeybees survive the heat and protect their hive from giant hornets.

Discuss the importance of this behavior in protecting the hive and ensuring the survival of the colony.

Ants: The Explosive Guardians (8 minutes):

Show video clips of an exploding ant in action.
Explain that the Colobopsis explodens ant sacrifices itself by rupturing its body to release a sticky, toxic goo that repels or kills predators.

Explain how the ant’s muscles contract to burst the abdomen, releasing the yellowish secretion with a curry-like smell.
Emphasize the role of the exploding ant in protecting the ant colony from predators and maintaining the colony’s safety.

Scorpions: The Protective Mothers (8 minutes):

Show a video of a mother scorpion carrying her babies on her back.

Explain that scorpions give birth to live young, which are born with a soft exoskeleton and climb onto their mother’s back for protection.
The babies stay on the mother’s back for 10 to 20 days until their exoskeleton hardens, protecting them from predators during this vulnerable period.

Discuss the maternal care in scorpions and how it ensures the survival of the young during their early stages of life.

Conclusion (2 minutes):

Review the unique defensive strategies of the honeybee, ant, and scorpion.
Encourage students to reflect on what observing these insects teach us about Jehovah and to think about how these adaptations might inspire technological advancements.

Assessment: Assess student comprehension and engagement through active participation in discussions and thoughtful responses to reflection questions.
Evaluate students’ understanding of each insect’s unique defensive strategies and adaptations through their responses to questions and participation in activities.